


Caring for the King

by QuothTheRaven_Nevermore



Category: The Folk of the Air - Holly Black
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Jude doesn't hesitate to push all of his back, but in a romantic way lmao, cardan is dramatic and knows how to push all of Jude's buttons, taryn is in this for like 3 seconds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:48:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27970277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuothTheRaven_Nevermore/pseuds/QuothTheRaven_Nevermore
Summary: Jude becomes Cardan's temporary nurse after he gets sick. Cardan is in a mood, Jude is irritated and it falls to Taryn to knock some sense into them both.Or the one where I use an angsty prompt to get out as much banter and fluff as possible.
Relationships: Jude Duarte/Cardan Greenbriar
Comments: 18
Kudos: 149





	Caring for the King

**Author's Note:**

> Helloooooo! I'm back with my first fic in literal years I think. I recently read tfota and I love Cardan and Jude's dynamic and couldn't stop myself from writing about them.

“Jude!” Comes the same voice for the fifth time in just as many minutes. Jude sighs, setting down the papers she has just picked up again. Cardan. “Jude Duarte!” He yells again, voice raspier than before, his vocal cords none too happy about the amount he’s been screaming lately. “As your king I command you into my chambers!”

Jude rolls her eyes, making her way over before his vocal cords snap entirely and her nurse duties are extended. “Cardan!” She says, irritated, once she’s in the doorway, “I’m here, what do you want?”

He looks up at her from the bed, where he’s been laying for the past five days, petulantly. His crown is askew on his head. He demanded to keep it on during the day so he could “legally” boss Jude around despite her being the Queen. His curls are wild around the gold circlet, twining through it like ivy on a trellis, strands going every which way. He’s glaring up at Jude, black eyes poking through his thick veil of lashes. His arms are crossed over his chest and a scowl mars his perfect face. “I’m tired,” is all he says.

Jude blinks. He called her in to tell her _this_? “So take a nap,” Jude replies, her tone and face suggesting a very rude _duh!_ at the end of her sentence.

“I can’t.”

Jude drags a hand down her face. “Why not?”

“The fever has made me sweat all morning.”

“So take a bath” Jude says in the same tone. She waves a hand toward the bathroom where a bathtub large enough for the entire Living Council sits. One of the many servants steps into the room and toward the bathroom where she undoubtedly starts running the water for Cardan’s bath.

Jude turns to go back to her work when she hears, “Will you help me get into the tub? I don’t want to slip.”

Jude turns. She has half a mind to remind him that with his unnatural Faerie grace he’s never tripped a day in his life. Jude sighs quietly, the papers on her desk heavy on her mind. It’s not anything deadly important, but caring for Cardan has taken up so much of her time that she’s woefully behind on all her work.

For the past four days Cardan has been ill. Apparently illness rarely ever affects the Folk, but when it does it hits hard. When Cardan suddenly developed a fever, Jude offered to be his makeshift nurse. Cardan, despite being near-delirious with said fever, argued against it until it was explained that Faerie illnesses couldn’t infect humans and vice versa. So, with a scowl and a huff, he let Jude lead him to his chambers where he’s been sequestered since then. The first two days, he did little else besides sleep and drink whatever he could manage to keep down. Jude flitted about anxiously until he told her to go do work. “Are you sure?” She’d asked him, “I don’t want to leave you.”

He nodded. “Do it at the desk in here if you’re so worried,” he said, turning to sleep on his stomach, burrowing his face further into the pillows, “But do it. You’re making me nervous just hovering here.”

Jude laughed, kissed his forehead once gently, and asked for any documents to be delivered to her there instead of her old room which she used as an office of sorts. Apparently, Cardan has changed his mind. Today, he seems none too happy about the circumstances and has been making life impossible. He’s called her in all day for mundane things, nearly all of them could have been done by himself.

Jude wonders how she hasn’t strangled him yet, but deep down, she’s happy he has enough strength to even fight. The healers say he’s doing well but isn’t safe _yet_. That tiny three-letter word stops Jude’s heart every time she hears it. He isn’t safe from this illness becoming fatal, _yet_. At the drop of a hat, it could all change. So, with a small nod, Jude turns to help Cardan out of bed.

She holds out her hand and he takes it, skin so hot Jude is surprised he hasn’t burned a hole through the sheets yet. She presses the back of her hand to his forehead, where he visibly relaxes at her cool touch. “Cardan,” she worries softly.

He nods weakly, “That's what the bath is for.”

Jude carefully helps him up, grunting quietly when he leans his entire weight on her. As soon as he’s up, it’s like all his energy has been drained. She wraps an arm around his waist and guides him toward the bathroom. The servant is gone, the tub full.

“Can you stand?” Jude asks.

Cardan nods weakly.

She lets him go and starts pulling the loose black shirt he’s wearing over his head. Her hands go to the laces of his pants next, fingers making quick work of it. In another time, there would have been no absence of suggestive jokes from either of them but now there’s only a heavy kind of silence. He hisses, Jude’s hands feeling like they’ve been held in ice water as they move over the sensitive skin above his waistband. In a minute, Cardan is completely naked before her. Jude feels heat rise in her cheeks anyway. She kicks the thoughts out of her mind, reminding herself to focus. Cardan hardly seems to notice her internal conflict, swaying in place as he struggles to remain upright. Jude grabs him again, ready this time as he practically collapses against her.

Cardan hisses as his toe touches the water. “It’s freezing, Jude,” he pleads. “Let me warm it up first.”

Jude frowns. The servants are always excellent at what they do, she doubts they’ve made a mistake now. She dips a hand in the water and her heart sinks as she finds it lukewarm as it should be. “It’s your fever, my love,” She says gently, the pet name rolling off her tongue. “Get in and you’ll feel better.”

Cardan is looking at the water almost fearfully. He sinks the rest of his foot in, then his legs, then the rest of him. He’s shivering violently, the warm water like ice against his scorching skin. Jude watches him, heart wrenching in her chest. He sinks down slowly, the water rising to his collarbones. Jude sits on the edge of the tub as Cardan lays his head back, breathing unsteady.

Tentatively, Jude runs a hand through his hair. Cardan sighs, eyes opening slightly. They’re bleary and exhausted. “I’m so tired, Jude,” he says. Jude continues to run her hands his scalp, nails slightly scratching. Cardan practically purrs, his tail swishing contentedly under the water. He blinks up at Jude as she cups water in her hand and lets it run down his forehead. It runs over his face, sliding over the apples of his cheeks, down the hollows, and finally running down to his jaw where it splashes back down into the tub.

“So tired,” he mumbles, turning his cheek into Jude’s hand as it goes down for more water.

“I know,” Jude answers quietly as she presses a kiss to his finally-cooling forehead.

“I’m glad you're here,” he says. “My Jude, my perfect, beautiful Jude.”

Jude can’t ignore the way those words make her feel even now. Tender warmth blooms in her chest and spreads to her entire being when she hears them.

She sits there with Cardan, ignoring the ache in her back from the awkward position, until his skin feels cooler. Not long, just a few minutes, but still long enough for Cardan to be more alert, black eyes sharper than they had been a minute ago.

“I want to go back to bed,” he demands. Jude rolls her eyes obviously this time and doesn’t miss the glint of amusement that flashes in Cardan’s eyes. Apparently he’s well enough for the demanding tone to return.

Jude helps him up and grabs a towel. Cardan takes it from her and dries himself off, waving away her offer for help. He grabs a new pair of underwear, forgoing the rest of his clothes. He walks slowly, every step looking like it pains him, toward the bed. The sheets and covers have been replaced with crisp new ones. Cardan lifts them, slowly getting back into bed. Jude tucks him in and he lets her fuss, leaning forward so she can fluff his pillow and allows her to give him the medicine from the healers. Once she’s satisfied she turns to go back to work. She makes it to the threshold when she hears, “Wait!”

She turns.

“I…” Cardan pauses oddly, frowning likes there’s a puzzle he can’t figure out. “I want water!”

“Alright.”

“Ice cold.”

She sighs, “Anything else?”

Cardan shakes his head, “No.”

Jude leaves the room quietly and goes into the kitchens, preferring to get the water herself. There she sees Taryn.

“How’s King Cardan?” She asks with a grin.

Jude sighs. “He’s had me doing idiots errands all day.”

“Like what?” Taryn asks, finding it odd that Cardan would make Jude work in vain. The cruel streak in him when it came to Jude has long since disappeared.

“First he had me come in to rearrange his pillows since he wanted to sit up, then he asked me to open his curtains to let the moonlight in, I had to grab a book for him to read, after that he made me sit and help him eat, then I had to let him know what the news from the Council were, he also had me help him change clothes and bathe. Now he’s making me get him ice water.”

Taryn sits wide eyed as her sister vents, growing increasingly agitated.

“I don’t know why he won’t just let me work!” Jude says, her shoulders stooping as she leans against the counter.

“Do you really not see it?” Taryn asks.

Jude looks up at her sister, “See what?”

Taryn laughs quietly, “You both really haven’t changed.”

“See what? Taryn just tell me. I’m not in the mood to play your guessing games.”

“Jude! He wants to spend time with you, to have you there with him. Duh!”

Jude blinks, frozen for a second. Then, all of the tension goes out of her body in an instant and she slumps over the counter. “Are you kidding me!? He’s had me do all this just so I wouldn’t leave his room?”

“Think about it,” Taryn goes on. “He keeps calling you into his room, asking you to do things that will keep you there. He’s acting the exact same way he used to when you allegedly hated each other but he really just didn’t know how to tell you his feelings. And you’re falling for it, Jude! You always do.”

“I do not!” She protests.

“Absolutely you are!” Taryn laughs. “You were probably going to strangle him as soon as he made another request.”

Jude glowers at her sister but says nothing as she starts to think. It would make sense, wouldn’t it? All the odd requests, making her watch him do mundane activities under the guise of safety.

“I can practically see the cogs in your mind turning,” Taryn says. “You don’t have to tell me, I know I’m right.” She moves the water pitcher closer to Jude, the ice gently clinking against the glass. “Now go give the King his water before he commands you to brush his hair one strand at a time.”

Jude takes it, shooting one last dirty look at her grinning twin.

“I’m back with your water, Cardan,” Jude calls.

He looks up from the bed, where he seemed to be staring at the pattern in the duvet. As soon as he hears her he perks up. Jude’s heart twists as she realizes Taryn was right.

She sets the tray with water down on the nightstand carefully, a fat bead of condensation rolling down the frosty glass of the pitcher. She looks at Cardan again and thinks about how lonely and boring it must be there, cooped up all alone with everyone too afraid of catching the same illness to come in.

“Thank you,” he says quietly as she pours him a glass. He takes it and lifts it to his lips. He looks at Jude out of the corner of his eye, as if waiting for her to get up and leave again. He hardly drinks any of the water, barely a sip, before setting it back down. He lies back on his pillows, face already growing sad at the thought of lying here alone again until it was early enough to go back to sleep. He watches as Jude stands up and walks to the armoire. She rummages through the clothing before grabbing something Cardan can’t see. There, in front of him, she undresses quickly. Cardan blushes, knowing it would be decent to avert his eyes but also knowing he is absolutely not going to.

“Is this your way of entertaining me?” He asks.

Jude shoots him a glare.

“You should be careful,” Cardan drawls. “Looking at me like that could finish off what this illness hasn’t.”

The look he receives is somehow more deadly than the first. With a huff, Jude grabs her new stack of clothes and walks toward her makeshift-office.

“Are you leaving?” Cardan can’t help but ask. His mood that had slightly-lifted quickly deflates.

“I’ll be right back,” Jude assures him. “I’m definitely not going to walk around the palace naked.”

“What a sight that would be,” Cardan mumbles as he watches her walk away.

In the antechamber, Jude lifts her arms, letting Cardan’s shirt slide down into place. It’s unnaturally soft, the fabric light and billowy. She pulls on her shorts, tying the laces just tight enough to keep them on her. There, that should be comfortable enough to lounge in all day. Jude is glad from the (hopefully) short reprieve from elaborate dresses and queen’s garments. She sees the stack of papers on her desk and for the first time, she doesn’t care. The papers can wait, Cardan shouldn’t have to. And yes, she probably should have just changed in their bedroom but a small part of her enjoys dramatic exits at Cardan’s expense. Old habits die hard for them both apparently.

Jude walks back into the room, watching as Cardan’s eyes widen fractionally and then fill with a hunger that makes Jude stomach tighten. Cardan can’t ignore the streak of satisfaction that goes through him when he sees Jude in his clothes.

“Back to work,” Jude says, lifting the covers on her side of the bed.  
Cardan raises an eyebrow. “What are you doing?”

“Working, of course.”

“You’re going to read documents from the bed?” Cardan asks her, bewildered.

“Of course not. While I am dreadfully behind because _someone_ has kept me busy all morning, that’s not my job right now.”

Jude sidles closer, burying herself in Cardan’s side. His arm goes around her automatically, chin resting on her head. “What is?” He asks quietly, the scent of Jude’s shampoo drifting up to his nose. A scent as familiar as the woman herself.

“You,” Jude answers so matter-of-factly that Cardan thinks he must have heard her wrong. 

A moment later he blinks, eyes burning. “Me?”

Jude twists in his arms until she can look up at him, not missing the devastated expression on his face. She is wracked with sadness again as she realizes that love and care are as unfamiliar to him as the human world. Jude wants to beg for forgiveness for abandoning him these past few days, unknowingly making him relive all those years that everyone, his own family, simply existed around him instead of with him. Instead of verbalizing all this, Jude simply says, “Duh.”

Cardan gives a watery laugh. “Oh,” is all he can think to say. He doesn’t think he’s ever been anyone’s priority. Maybe when they were trying to keep him alive long enough to crown Oak but that wasn’t out of any kindness, out of love. He leans down to kiss Jude, his lips pressing tenderly against hers, hoping it conveys everything his words cannot.

Jude runs her hand through his hair after they break apart, relishing in the feeling of his silky hair between her fingers. The black strands gleam like light on water under the lamps. Cardan is looking at her like she’s the moon in their sky. It makes her chest tighten. “It’s come to my attention that you’ve been cooped up in here for days with nobody but yourself for company. I can’t imagine how dreadful that has been,” Jude teases. She grabs his hand and kisses his knuckles gently, looking at him tenderly despite her playful words. He thinks his heart might burst.

Cardan snorts, flicking her nose. “I’ll have you know I rather enjoy my own company.”

“Oh, well in that case I’ll take my leave.” As she moves to get out of the bed, Cardan grabs her around the waist. “Judith Duarte Greenbriar if you move one inch I’ll formally banish you from every Faerie land except this bedroom.”

Jude’s heart flutters at having Greenbriar at the end of her name but bristles at all the rest. “If you hadn’t noticed, I’m the Queen and you actually can’t banish me, _your highness_.”

“Like I said,” Cardan repeats, ignoring her entirely. He stifles the laugh that threatens to bubble out of him at her indignant expression. “I enjoy my own company, but not as much as I enjoy yours.”

Jude blinks away the sudden moisture in her eyes. “Well,” she says, “In that case, quit being a blanket hog and let me have some.”

Cardan laughs as Jude burrows herself under the covers, resting her head on his chest. Cardan wraps his arm around her, kissing the crown of her head. Despite his fever, his aches and the disease that’s still very much making its way out of his body, Cardan smiles. With Jude here, the steady beat of her heart, the soft sounds of her breathing, her body softly pressed against his, Cardan feels better already.

**Author's Note:**

> let me know what yall thought i live off of compliments from strangers online.


End file.
